Books published by Wits University Press

Social science researchers in the global South, and in South Africa particularly, utilise research methods in innovative ways in order to respond to contexts characterised by diversity, racial and political tensions, socioeconomic disparities and gender inequalities. These methods often remain undocumented - a gap that this book starts to address. Written by experts from various methodological fields, Transforming Research Methods in the Social Sciences is a comprehensive collation of original essays and cutting-edge research that demonstrates the variety of novel techniques and research methods available to researchers responding to these context-bound issues. It is particularly relevant for study and research in the fields of applied psychology, sociology, ethnography, biography and anthropology. In addition to their unique combination of conceptual and application issues, the chapters also include discussions on ethical considerations relevant to the method in similar global South contexts. Transforming Research Methods in the Social Sciences has much to offer to researchers, professionals and others involved in social science research both locally and internationally.

Brings together leading scholars and activists from around the world studying and challenging racism. In eleven thematically rich and conceptually informed chapters, the contributors interrogate the complex nexus of questions surrounding race and relations of oppression as they are played out in the global South and global North.

Comprising approximately 300 letters, this book provides access to the voice of Robert Sobukwe via the single most poignant resource of Sobukwe's voice that exists: his prison letters. Not only do the letters evince Sobukwe's storytelling abilities, they convey the complexity of a man who defied easy categorization.

Argues against the stereotype that the goal of new democracies, such as South Africa and other developing nation-states, is to become like the global North, and asserts that democracies can only work when every person has an equal say in the public decisions that affect them.

Performance art is transgressive and interdisciplinary. Acts of Transgression, an illustrated collection of 15 essays by respected researchers, critically probes where live art and socio-political turbulence intersect in post-apartheid South African society. Focusing on work by 25 contemporary artists, it adds significantly to the field.

The first study to probe the primary features, and possible effects, of some major literary genres as they pertain to elephants south of the Zambezi over three centuries: indigenous forms, early European travelogues, hunting accounts, novels, game ranger memoirs, scientists' accounts, and poems.

Argues that domestic worker relations in South Africa were shaped by the institution of slavery at the Cape. This established social hierarchies and patterns of behaviour that persist to the present day. To support her argument, Ena Jansen examines the representation of domestic workers in a diverse range of texts in English and Afrikaans.

What does the lawn want? To be watered, fertilised, mowed, admired, fretted over, ignored? This unusual question serves as a starting point for Civilising Grass: The Art of the Lawn on the South African Highveld, an unexpected and often disconcerting critique of one of the most common and familiar landscapes in South Africa.

In 1937, a group of young Capetonians embarked on a remarkable public education and cultural project called the New Era Fellowship (NEF). By shining a contemporary light on the NEF, Crain Soudien shows how its members were at the forefront of redefining the debate about social difference in a racially divided society.

In this history of more than 3,000 years, beginning with Ancient Egypt, Marcus Byrne and Helen Lunn capture the diversity of dung beetles and their unique behaviour patterns. Outlining the development of science from the point of view of the humble dung beetle makes this charming story of immense interest to general readers and entomologists alike.

Presents the stories of South Africans, some Gauteng-born, others from neighbouring provinces, striving to realise the promises of democracy. They are also the stories of newcomers, from neighbouring countries and from as far afield as Pakistan and Rwanda, seeking a secure future.

This intriguing memoir details in a quiet and restrained manner what it meant to be a committed black intellectual activist during the apartheid years and beyond. Few autobiographies exploring the "life of the mind" and the "history of ideas" have come out of South Africa, and N. Chabani Manganyi's reflections are a refreshing addition to the genre of life writing.

Capitalism's addiction to fossil fuels is heating our planet at a pace and scale never before experienced. Political leaders across the world are failing to provide systemic solutions to the climate crisis. The Climate Crisis investigates ecosocialist alternatives that are emerging.

Provides the first in-depth study of one of the leading trade unions in South Africa. Deftly navigating through workerist, social movement and political terrains that shape the South African labour landscape, this book sheds light on the path that led to the unprecedented 2012 Marikana massacre, the dissolution of the Cosatu federation and to fractures within the African National Congress itself.

Shaping markets through competition and economic regulation is at the heart of addressing the development challenges facing countries in southern Africa. The contributors to Competition Law and Economic Regulation critically assess the efficacy of the competition and economic regulation frameworks, including the impact of a number of the regional competition authorities.

Presents surveys of the opinions, attitudes and lifestyles of members of trade unions affiliated to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu). In its analysis, Labour Beyond Cosatu shows that Cosatu, fragmented and weakened through fissures in its alliance with the African National Congress, is no longer the only dominant force influencing South Africa's labour landscape.

Despite the transition from apartheid to democracy, South Africa is the most unequal country in the world. This collection of essays demonstrate how the consequences of inequality extend throughout society and the political economy, crippling the quest for social justice, polarising the politics, skewing economic outcomes and bringing devastating environmental consequences in their wake.

An illuminating and unusual biography of the Kowie River in the Eastern Cape. As well as being a social history, this is also a natural history of the river and its catchment area, where dinosaurs once roamed and cycads still grow.

What does friendship have to do with racial difference, settler colonialism and post-apartheid South Africa? While histories of apartheid and colonialism in South Africa have often focused on the ideologies of segregation and white supremacy, Ties that Bind explores how the intimacies of friendship create vital spaces for practices of power and resistance.

In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked secret documents revealing that state agencies had spied on the communications of millions of innocent citizens. Jane Duncan assesses the relevance of Snowden's revelations for South Africa. In doing so she questions the extent to which South Africa is becoming a surveillance society governed by a surveillance state.

The 2017 publication of Betrayal of the Promise, the report that detailed the systematic nature of state capture, marked a key moment in South Africa's most recent struggle for democracy. Shadow State is an updated version of that original, explosive report that changed South Africa's recent history.

This collection of essays and talks by activist and former judge Albie Sachs is the culmination of more than 25 years of thought about constitution-making and non-racialism. We, the People offers an intimate insider's view of South Africa's Constitution by a writer who has been deeply entrenched in its historical journey.

The global economic crisis is far from over and has been considered the worst in the history of modern capitalism.

This story of an ANC elder is a rigorously researched historical record overlaid with intensely personal reflections which intersect with the political narrative. Above all, it is one man's story, set in the maelstrom of the liberation struggle.

Takes stock of the Zuma-led administration and its impact on the African national Congress (ANC). Combining hard-hitting arguments with astute analysis, Booysen shows how the ANC has become centered on the personage of Zuma, and how defense of his flawed leadership undermines the party's capacity to govern competently and protect its long-term future.

Climate change affects us all, but it can be a confusing business. Three leading South African scientists who have worked on the issue for over two decades help you to make sense of this topic. Climate Change: Briefings from Southern Africa takes the form of 55 "frequently-asked questions", each with a brief, clear scientifically up-to-date reply.

The death of Nelson Mandela on 5 December 2013 was in a sense a wake-up call for South Africans, and a time to reflect on what has been achieved since 'those magnificent days in late April 1994' (as the editors of this volume put it) 'when South Africans of all colours voted for the first time in a democratic election'.